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Fabric-Lego: 3D-Printing Fabric-Based Lego-Compatible Designs for Assistive Wearables, Personalization, and Self-Expression

Published: 01 July 2024 Publication History

Abstract

Medical braces and assistive wearables serve critical functions in supporting mobility and aiding individuals with temporary disabilities. However, these devices often lack aesthetic appeal and fail to provide personal expression, leading to psychological challenges and social stigma. We propose a novel fabrication method, Fabric-Lego, which combines 3D-printing with traditional garment-making (pattern-making, sewing, ironing, and overlocking) to address these shortcomings. By integrating customizable Lego®-like blocks into wearable fabrics in accessible DIY ways, users can personalize their wearables while maintaining comfort and functionality. We present the fabrication process, including insights on materiality, pre-processing, 3D-printing, and post-processing steps. To demonstrate the design space and potential applications of our method, we implemented 3 prototypes: 1) a customizable arm sling cover, 2) a customizable finger splint cover, and 3) a T-shirt with integrated blocks. This approach offers a promising path for enhancing the user experience and empowering individuals to embrace their unique identities.

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  1. Fabric-Lego: 3D-Printing Fabric-Based Lego-Compatible Designs for Assistive Wearables, Personalization, and Self-Expression

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    cover image ACM Conferences
    DIS '24 Companion: Companion Publication of the 2024 ACM Designing Interactive Systems Conference
    July 2024
    501 pages
    ISBN:9798400706325
    DOI:10.1145/3656156
    Permission to make digital or hard copies of all or part of this work for personal or classroom use is granted without fee provided that copies are not made or distributed for profit or commercial advantage and that copies bear this notice and the full citation on the first page. Copyrights for components of this work owned by others than the author(s) must be honored. Abstracting with credit is permitted. To copy otherwise, or republish, to post on servers or to redistribute to lists, requires prior specific permission and/or a fee. Request permissions from [email protected].

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    Published: 01 July 2024

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    Author Tags

    1. 3D-printing
    2. DIY
    3. customization
    4. garment making
    5. hybrid craft
    6. personal fabrication

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    DIS '24
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    DIS '24: Designing Interactive Systems Conference
    July 1 - 5, 2024
    IT University of Copenhagen, Denmark

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